Though the words sounded polite, it wasn’t hard to hear the faint threat hidden underneath.
Dongfang Wen picked up a white stone and set it on the board. His expression didn’t ripple in the slightest, as calm as still water.
Taohua watched from the side, not daring to even breathe too loudly. Her palms were slick with nervous sweat.
If this kept going, were this master and disciple going to actually start fighting?
If they did, an innocent bystander like her was bound to get caught in the crossfire!
A dead silence hung in the air. No one spoke.
After a long while, Dongfang Wen finally took a black stone from the jade box and dropped it onto the board. Then he said,
“…Annoying girl. Have it your way.”
As soon as he finished, Dongfang Wen suddenly rose to his feet and brought his palm down lightly on the stone table. The tea set and the board that had been on the table all jumped into the air, shaken up by his internal energy.
Not to be outdone, Guan Fusha snapped her slender fingers and neatly plucked the tiny teapot—made from top-grade purple clay—out of midair. In a blur too fast to follow, she poured the tea into the cups beside it.
Dongfang Wen pressed his palm harder on the stone table. The teacups, now full of hot tea, rattled violently, the liquid inside almost sloshing over the rims.
Guan Fusha pushed out a hand, sending the jade chessboard sliding under the cups to brace them, steadying the dangerously tilting tea.
Whether because he was satisfied by his disciple’s skill or for some other reason, a faint smile flashed through Dongfang Wen’s eyes and vanished just as quickly. The force in his palm only grew stronger. Cracks began to spread across the hard stone tabletop.
Knowing Dongfang Wen’s strength, Guan Fusha didn’t dare let down her guard. Imitating his movements, she raised her own hand and slammed her palm into the stone table, pouring out her own internal energy.
Even solid stone couldn’t withstand the clash. The table shattered at once into chunks that clattered to the floor.
Everything above it, suddenly losing support, plunged downward under the pull of gravity. The black and white stones scattered with a loud clatter, pouring across the ground like a sudden downpour.
The teacup that had been firmly balanced on the chessboard fell as well. With a flick of her wrist, Guan Fusha sent the cup flying toward Taohua.
Their exchange was far too fast. Taohua, who didn’t know martial arts at all, couldn’t follow what had happened. All she saw was the intact stone table suddenly explode, then Guan Fusha throwing a cup of tea straight at her.
Startled out of her wits, she scrambled and fumbled to catch it. Some of the tea sloshed out, but thankfully there was still quite a bit left in the cup—and it was only warm, not hot enough to burn her.
Guan Fusha’s eyes shone with a bright smile. In a soft, slightly scolding tone, as if blaming Taohua for not understanding the situation, she said,
“Little junior sister, why are you still standing there in a daze? Hurry over and offer Master his tea.”
Taohua froze, her mind going completely blank.
Little junior sister?
Dongfang Wen clearly only had one disciple—Guan Fusha. And there were only three of them in this lakeside pavilion.
So the “little junior sister” she meant… was her?
Catching the look in Guan Fusha’s eyes, Taohua stumbled forward in a hurry, dropped to her knees in front of Dongfang Wen, and respectfully held up the teacup in both hands.
“Master, please accept your disciple’s tea.”
She didn’t know if it was excitement or fear, but Taohua’s hands trembled ever so slightly, making the tea in the cup gently ripple.
Dongfang Wen took the cup and tipped his head back, draining it in one go. His face remained completely expressionless.
His gaze was cold as frost, giving nothing away. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking, to guess at his joy, anger, sorrow, or pleasure.
All at once, Taohua felt as if something invisible had coiled around her neck, squeezing until she could barely breathe. Almost instinctively, her fear of him deepened into a bottomless, black pool, with no end in sight.
Guan Fusha walked up to him, still smiling.
“Disciple thanks Master for showing mercy just now.”
As her sleeves fluttered, they just so happened—whether by accident or intention—to fall across Dongfang Wen’s line of sight, giving Taohua a brief moment to catch her breath.
Dongfang Wen let out an almost inaudible cold snort. His expression didn’t change, but there was a trace of impatience in his voice.
“Go.”
Guan Fusha had no intention of really provoking his anger. She cupped her hands respectfully.
“Then your disciples won’t disturb Master any longer. We’ll take our leave first.”
With his back to the pair preparing to leave, Dongfang Wen couldn’t help grumbling inwardly:
Two-faced brat. She says she doesn’t want to bother me, but she keeps coming to provoke me over these trivial little things. Can’t she just let me play a quiet game of chess for once?
Guan Fusha tightened her grip around Taohua’s hand and, with a touch of skillful strength, gently helped her up from the ground.
“Junior sister, let’s go.”
Taohua was still in a daze when Guan Fusha once again wrapped an arm around her waist. A few light steps, and they were already back on the shore.
When she finally let go of Taohua’s slender waist, Guan Fusha’s arms felt oddly empty, and for some reason a faint sense of loss fluttered through her chest.
Acting as if nothing had happened, she smiled.
“Junior sister, from now on you’d better put some effort into learning lightness skill. Otherwise, every time you come to this pavilion in the middle of the lake, your senior sister will have to carry you in. If word gets out, people will laugh at you.”
Listening to Guan Fusha call her “junior sister” over and over again, Taohua finally confirmed that everything that had just happened wasn’t a hallucination.
She really had latched onto Guan Fusha’s thick golden thigh!
Mom would never have to worry about her becoming cannon fodder again!
Except… why was Guan Fusha helping her to this extent? Not only had she made Dongfang Wen agree to let her join the Night God Sect, she’d even gotten him to take her in as a disciple…
Taohua snuck a glance at Guan Fusha, but no matter how she looked, she couldn’t read a single thought from that face—so beautiful it made people want to hoard it all for themselves. In the end, she simply gave up trying to guess.
Anyway, a thick thigh like Guan Fusha’s—only a fool wouldn’t cling to it. If you don’t cling, it’s a waste. If you do cling, it’s never a loss.
Since Taohua had no intention of asking to the bottom of it, Guan Fusha naturally didn’t explain on her own.
“Mm. I’ll definitely work hard at martial arts from now on. Thank you, senior sister.”
To build the image of an obedient, well-behaved junior, Taohua deliberately answered in an extra-docile tone.
Guan Fusha nodded, seemingly quite satisfied.
Her sharp eyes noticed a damp patch at Taohua’s sleeve and she caught her hand.
“Junior sister, your sleeve is wet.”
Only then did Taohua notice.
“I must’ve splashed it by accident just now.”
She tried rubbing at it with her hand, but the obvious tea stain on the sleeve didn’t fade at all.
“Don’t bother wiping.”
Guan Fusha held her soft, boneless little hand.
“Tea stains are hard to get out once they soak into the fabric.”
Looking at the stain marring Taohua’s pretty pink dress, Guan Fusha—the type who couldn’t stand anything out of place—felt it was absolutely intolerable.
“Junior sister, come with me. I’ll give you a fresh set of clothes to change into.”
Taohua felt that tiny smudge didn’t matter in the slightest, but she didn’t dare refuse Guan Fusha’s kindness. She could only nod and follow along behind her.
